This is exciting for me; when I was studying Neuroscience I wrote a paper on Vision Substitution Systems. Well, now the Boston Retinal Implant Program seem to actually have a prototype (for a different kind of blindness, but still) for a retina replacement device. Basically, it’s a freaking bionic eye.
The device is really cool, and it has to be waterproof, durable enough to last ten years in the body, and small enough to do its job while inside your little eyeball. The project spans multiple universities and hospitals and has been going on for decades, and they’re close to a working product. Can’t wait to get mine!
Eyes on prize: Visionary device gives hope [Boston Herald]
Does it come in red with “laser” and “xray” functions?
how about nightvision , telescoping & infrared
I’m just curious.. When you plant some foreign object inside your body, it has a possibility that it will accumulate even a tiny fraction of liquid (water, tears.. semen, whatever).. doesn’t that open some sort of possibility for infection?
semen in your eyes? you saw to much pr0n
Your eye is filled with saline (salt water basically) so it will have to be waterproof.
I just do eyes…
How goddamn weird is that that I just watched that movie for the first time last night? (Blade Runner, yes?)
My son has a retinal detachment in his left eye. He’s 8. I’m hoping this will become mainstream soon and allow him to experience binocular vision once again.
If your son has a retinal detachment there are operations that can reattach retinas (I’ve had mine reattached after an eye injury, and my grandfather has had the operation 3 times because of some genetic reason).
But I am hoping that this will become a useful and successful product because I have no use able vision in my right eye because of a wrinkle on my retina.
I was born blind in my left eye due to nerve damage, I wonder if this device would allow me to see again?
Can i ejaculate all over the eye, and will it still work, cause that’s hawt, like a dead baby hawt!!! OMG A DEAD BABY
Look out, Harry Potter! It’s Mad-Eye Moody!!
I want one that looks completely real, and can glow red at will.
When I was a homeless rodeo clown I met a fellow that had a bionic eye. I haven’t seen him around since I became a world class magician !
It’s unbelievable how many stupid people are around us. Have you ever used your mind to think something smart; Do you know how many people would like to have their vision back; all you can think is laser beams and porn!!! Two things that you’ll never have in your lives.
Well yeah, this is the internet man and just like in the real world, some people are stupid , some are smart and some like to think they`re comedians in the hope that others will like them.
The stupid ones? well i cant remember what they say because its ignored because its not worth taking in.
Anyway, hopefully this artificial eye is good enough to give the sight impaired the chance to enjoy life even more. and at not at too great an expense.
Did I miss some major advancements in bio/electronic interfacing? Yeah yeah; you can stick a tiny camera in someone’s eye socket – big deal. Can you interface it with the optic nerve? That’s 99.9% of the challenge.
Not saying it can’t be done – just saying its not something that can be solved by a pair of wire strippers and a couple o’ dozen trusty “western union” splices.
I think right now they are testing a version with 60 electrodes. Assuming a 1:1 correlation between electrodes and pixels (I’m assuming the optic nerve isn’t “progressive scan”) – to say nothing of the “bit depth” of these electrodes – were talking about 1/1,000,000th of the visual acuity of an organic eye.
Whoops, I meant to post that under the main thread; now I sound like a pretentious dick wad.
Maybe they should instead use those 60 electrode to interface with 60 different kinds of laser beams and tiny little dart launchers. SWEET.
well, yes a lot of people need a real help from technology, but these technology and great ones usually come from wild idea; and some times stupid at the time. so please, let their imagination run wild, they might invent something that useful for all of us.
Rizzo said the implant will not restore perfect vision, but will provide patients with a sense of their surroundings – to detect shapes and obstacles in their pathways. Ideally, Rizzo and his team say, patients will someday be able to recognize objects, faces and general detail.
Its astart and i hope in the next 20years the clarity improves to that of humans 20/20.
I lost vision in one of my eyes due to a bottle rocket war that happened when I was a kid. I’d love to play ping pong, or catch a baseball again if I could have my depth perception back.
Just a comment for the “hopefuls” who are vision impaired:
I was diagnosed with a congenital cataract that was removed over 35 years ago- prior to lens replacement surgery. I was told I would never have binocular vision because it was “too late for me” by doctors around the country, yet I kept asking- nearly every year of my life. Doctors told me that my brain had never learned to process sight from two eyes, so I was considered a “high risk case” by their standards. As an aside, I am a glass artist and binocular vision is rather important.
Three years ago, I was diagnosed with “severe corneal degeneration” in the same eye- very painful. I managed to talk ONE doctor involved in my case into signing off on giving me a lens implant (even though it was “useless” and I was “high risk”)- after requesting to see three doctors- the first two told me absolutely NO lens implant.
A single doctor, Doctor Ogawa in Albuquerque, New Mexico, gave me both the lens implant and corneal transplant in one surgery- lasting about two hours. Less than a week later I was able to see from that eye for the first time in my life.
Three years later, I have depth perception for the first time in my life and while my vision is not perfect in that eye, if I were to lose vision in my other eye- I would be able to see my daughter’s face. The colors I see are richer, my perepheral vision is better, I have depth perception (no more missing the wine glass when I pour!)
Eye surgeries and occular developments are some of the fastest growing fields in medicine and science- do not lose hope!
And above all- NEVER let ANYONE tell you that it won’t work for some reason. There is still so much that we don’t understand about how our bodies and minds work- and we are capable of GREAT things. Thank you to all of the specialists, techs, researchers, developers and dreamers out there who keep working on this cool stuff and who never give up- you guys ROCK.
PS- I loved the comments from the “degenerates”- they made me laugh pretty freakin’ hard! A half blind girl with no sense of humor would be a shame, indeed, now wouldn’t it?
Thanks for sharing that, it’s great to know some people are getting the help they need.
Glass Chick – You’re an inspiration, just what I needed today…
This is th place to go :—
http://www.doheny.org/research/retina.html
check it out!
sir, please tell me in India where such type of surgury is going on?actually my father is suffering from the disease fully detachment of the retina in his right eye.and he is not able to see anything from his right eye. in his left eye there is also problem,that is partial detachment of retina. and 3 months ago he was operated by laser surgery in bhuwaneswar (l v eye institute, patia) sir, i am requesting you to please inform me on my e.mail address.
Hi, My sister, 35 years of age, residing in India has been diagnosed with optic atrophy, and is sufferring from degeneration of the nerves in the eye.
Pls let me know if the bionic eye can help her.
she is desperate and is also ready to be part of trials if reqd.
Thanks to anyone who can direct me to a solution to this.
Has the bionic eye transplant started for patients? If so, what is the contact no, where I can try.
I am not blind but would like one! That is probably the coolest thing I’ve seen. Since the brain’s activity is electric wouldn’t a bionic eye be the most logical thing?
What would take the cake is if it was solar powered! We don’t need to see when it is dark so solar power would be most logical.
Yeah that is pretty darn sweet. I know a man who is almost 100 percent blind in one eye. Wonder if that would work for him?
Hmmm. If you got one of these you would still have ONE “real” eye… hmmmm…. I could probably deal with that.
So is this a night vision like what yahoo said? Is this the eye that can actually see in the dark or just another duplicate money wasting product.
my brother sufferred car accident last 2006 dec. his doctor told us that his globes are ruptured and he cannot see again. Is it possible this bionic eye for him, . If so, how muh will it cost, , Thanks and best regards,
hi my husband is blind he wants to get the bionic eye can yoy give us a dr.s name that can to the surgery 4 us.thank u .
With the direction current medical science is progressing they will more then likely be able to grow an exact working copy of your eye and transplant it in long before they will come up with a electronic eye that is as good as the organic equivalent.
My daughter aged 5 years had retina detachment in both eyes, is there any possibility of the bionic eye system, which would work out for my daughter.
My son age 10 years old is suffering for both eyes severe retinal pigmentosis any cure or any surgery for bionic eyes ?
you know the first fully functional bionic eye with night vision, telescoping, infrared etc will probably be issued to people in the military. It will definitely be awesome and will cut down on baggage no matter who you are or what you do. I Know i want em.
Wow that is simply amazing. Hopefully I won’t need one after sitting in front of my laptop screen for so many years. I love technology and this is yet another crazy technological advancement.
This is hopeful news for those with no vision and those with the loss of one eye as it will allow them to recover depth perception no matter the resolution. If you were blind and someone offered you vision only one thousandths as average you would do anything for it.